Stunning Local Model’s Italian Dream

Katrina Ienco has the world at her feet – and she can thank her father’s unwavering faith for her shot at making it big in the world of modelling.

Genoa-born Katrina, 21, from Jolley Drive, Woodmansey, has won her way through to the prestigious Miss Italy in the World finals, screened on the Italian version of BBC 1 later this summer, after scooping the Miss Italy in England prize in London’s Notting Hill last week.

Open to women with Italian blood – either from parents or grandparents – Katrina saw off the cream of the country’s Italian women to become one of two competitors from the UK to go head-to-head with 50 Italian beauties from around the world in Jesolo, near Venice, at the beginning of next month.

It promises to be an amazing experience for Katrina and she will rub shoulders with many of the country’s top actors and footballers, as well as put herself in the shop window for a career in modelling.

And she revealed it was her Italian-born father Valerio who has been the driving force behind her shot at stardom.

She told HU17.net: “I’ve watched the TV programme ever since I was really small and my dad has always wanted me to do it – he was the one who put me forward for it last year.

“It’s a massive event in Italy and in the Italian community in England. It’s a world beauty pageant celebrating Italian beauty around the world so there’s one girl from countries from across the globe.

“I’ll be up against competitors from across the world – there will be women from Thailand, Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, from all over the place.

“It’s a massive show and it lasts four or five hours on Rai Uno – the equivalent of BBC 1. We will be rehearsing 10-12 hours a day for the two weeks before the event.

“There will be a dance, which we will all do in a group, then the talent round, and there will probably be a quiz on what you know about Italy.

“It’s going to be a really fun event.”

Katrina was spared qualifying for the event in London as she was invited to re-enter after just failing last year to earn qualification to the main competition in Italy.

And a year older, wiser and more confident, she is certain she has a huge chance to claim the main prize and fulfil her modelling goals, although as an Italian and Spanish speaker Katrina has plenty of other strings to her bow.

She continued: “My main aim is to win the event and I think I have a good chance. There will be a lot of beautiful girls there but everything is achievable and I have just proved it.

“I’d like to succeed in the modelling industry and this is an excellent way to get my name out there. I am not sure in which direction I want to go but I want to be a success in modelling.”

It’s the 20th anniversary of Miss Italia Nel Mondo, to give it its Italian title, but Katrina knows it’s an event not well known outside Italian communities.

However, she’s certain success will open a lot of people’s eyes.

She said: “I have a lot of English and Italian friends. My English friends don’t really know a lot about it so it is not appreciated as much as it is with my Italian friends.

“But hopefully when they have seen it on telly they will see that it’s a prestigious event.”

Katrina’s mother Tanya, a former classical ballet teacher and model, attended the competitions and says she is extremely proud of Katrina, especially as, Tanya admits, her daughter showed no inclination to follow in her footsteps.

She continued: “I think she’s done absolutely brilliantly. Last year she was placed, everyone thought she should have been included in it but there was a professional model in there and at the end of the day she won.

“She’s worked hard to lose a bit of weight and I think that really helped a bit and she has concentrated on trying to be more confident to pull it off. She is not the most confident but she has been working on it.

“You have to be a showgirl and have to show off. The Miss Italia organisers in the UK had her down as a favourite from last year and they were the ones who asked her to come back and do it.

“I’ve been down with her every time. It was tougher this year than last year as far as the competition was concerned because there was more to it. They had to dance and do all sorts of things.

“There was a better standard of girls and there were already a couple of professional models in it. To say she has had no training she has done really well.”